Healthcare workers’ ALL-Ukrainian action

16 August 2017: As the government is ignoring the demands of the Health Workers’ Union of Ukraine and social and economic situation in the sector is worsening, the Union’s Presidium decided on 8 August to hold a nationwide protest of healthcare workers in the first half of September.

‘The Presidium of the National Tripartite Social and Economic Council proposes to hold its meeting on 7-8 of September in order to consider and discuss topical issues of the state budget, healthcare and pension reforms. How this can be done will depend not least on the Government party, because the trade union party and the employers’ party want these reforms to be re-considered,’ President of Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine Grygorii Osovyi said.

Talking about the Union’s protest Grygorii Osovyi said that the Union is essential to demonstrate its strong position, to prove that it is responsive to all challenges that concern not only the healthcare workers, but all citizens. After all, it is a question of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of not only healthcare workers, but also all citizens using the healthcare services.

The Union is forced to come out to protest because conciliatory procedures to resolve the collective labour dispute between the Union and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine registered last year have not started yet. The Government does not want to make the contact.

The basic Union’s demands are:

• Increase healthcare workers wages and eliminate the ‘equalisation’ of highly skilled workers’ pay that violates differentiation of wages of 1-12 tariff wage rates of the Single Tariff System,

• Implement the court’s decisions by the Government and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine relating to cancellation of the CMU Decree No. 442 of 10/09/2014 relating to reorganisation of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Ukraine,

• Cancel the CMU Decree No. 1024 of 25/11/2015 on reduction of number of beds in hospitals.